France will always back India in fight against terror, French Minister assures Sushma

New Delhi, Mar 16 : French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian had a telephonic conversation with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Friday and informed her of the action taken by France to sanction Masood Azhar, Chief of the UN proscribed terrorist organisation Jaish-e-Mohammed.

The group had claimed responsibility for the Pulwama terrorist attack on February 14.

According to an official release here, the French Minister assured Ms Swaraj during tele talks that France has "always been and will always be" on India's side in the fight against terrorism.

France has sanctioned Masood Azhar at the national level by freezing his assets. French Foreign Minister also informed Ms Swaraj that France has raised this issue with the European Union.

On her part, External Affairs Minister thanked her French counterpart Le Drian for France's steadfast support and said that India looked forward to continuing this cooperation on the anti-terrorism front.

"This action on the part of France was an expression of partnership with India and was in consonance with the global intent by responsible nations committed to fight against terror, including cross-border terrorism, anywhere in the world," the official release said.